US agrees to lift sanctions for Iran Air ATR spares
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has given turboprop manufacturer ATR permission to supply Iran Air with spares to keep its fleet in the air.
The Iranian flag carrier has 13 of the Franco-italian ATR 72-600s in its fleet. They formed the bulk of the few newbuild Western aircraft to be delivered to Iran in the two-year window when Usled sanctions against the Islamic Republic were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. They were reimposed in 2018 by US President Donald Trump, Air Transport World wrote on Wednesday.
The US has said it will take strict measures against any companies supplying Iran with a wide range of goods and services without OFAC permission.
The ATR development occurred earlier this year but has not previously been announced.
“In April 2019, ATR was granted a license for the support of the Iran Air fleet (13 aircraft) from the OFAC,” an ATR spokesman told ATW.
“This license authorizes ATR, in compliance with its terms, to export parts, components and tools, update software and provide technology necessary to ensure the safe operation of the aircraft. The license expires on April 30, 2021.”
Iran Air ordered 20 ATR 72-600s, plus 20 options, in February 2016. A batch of five was delivered in the 24 hours before the sanctions were reimposed last year and it is understood that a further three were ready for delivery if the deadline had been delayed by 24 hours.
ATR initially hoped it would receive permission from OFAC to supply the remaining seven aircraft, but later accepted this would not happen. Parliament will block a no-deal Brexit if unelected people behind Prime Minister Boris Johnson try to wrench Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31 without agreement, former finance minister Philip Hammond said on Wednesday.
The United Kingdom is heading toward a constitutional crisis at home and a showdown with the EU as Johnson has vowed to leave the bloc in 78 days time without a deal unless it agrees to renegotiate a Brexit divorce, Reuters wrote.
After more than three years of Brexit dominating EU affairs, the bloc has repeatedly refused to reopen the withdrawal agreement which includes an Irish border insurance policy that Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, agreed in November.
Hammond, who served as May’s finance minister for three years, said unelected people in Johnson’s Downing Street office were setting London on an “inevitable” course toward a no-deal Brexit by demanding the backstop be dropped.
Iran and other Persian Gulf states could protect the region’s security and foreign forces were not needed, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, repeating a longstanding rejection of a US maritime security mission in the region.
“There is no need for foreign forces to ensure security and stability in the Persian Gulf. The countries of the region can maintain their security through unity and dialogue, and no doubt they will not benefit from US claims and actions,” Rouhani said at a cabinet meeting.
Rouhani said the US and others are after sowing the seeds of discord among regional Muslim countries and emptying their coffers.
He said regional countries have historically had and will continue to enjoy brotherly relations, stressing that any division and discord will only benefit their enemies.
“Throughout history, the countries of the region have been and will be neighbors and brothers, and their division is in favor of the enemies,” Rouhani said.
The United States has announced
Syrian government forces captured two villages in the country’s northwest early Wednesday, inching closer to a major terrorist-controlled city, a war monitor and state media reported.
The capture of the villages of Tel Aas and Kfar Eyn puts Syrian troops now about five kilometers west of Khan Sheikhoun, one of the largest and most populated cities on the southern edge of Idlib Province, the last remaining terrorist stronghold in the country, AP reported.
The city is a stronghold of Alqaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-sham, the most powerful group in terroristheld areas. It was the scene of an alleged chemical attack on April 4, 2017 that killed 89 people.
At the time, the United States, Britain and France pointed a finger at the Syrian government, saying their experts had found that nerve agents were used in the attack. The Syrian government rejected the allegation.
Days later, the US fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at the Shayrat Airbase in central Syria, saying that the attack on Khan Sheikhoun was launched from the base.
Syrian troops have been on the offensive against main terrorist strongholds in the north of Hama Province and the southern districts of Idlib since April 30.
The three-month conflict has killed more than 2,000 people on both sides. Over the past days, troops have intensified their offensive, capturing the town of Habeet on Sunday.
The aim of the latest government push appears to be to surround several towns and villages in the terrorist-held region of Hama, including the towns of Kfar Zeita and Latamneh, as well as reach Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, said Syrian troops captured the two villages early on Wednesday. The government-run Syrian Central Military Media also said pro-government fighters took the villages after fierce fighting with Al-qaeda-linked terrorists.
“The operation aims to expand government-controlled area in northern parts of Hama and cut supply lines to militants,” Yazan Mohammed, a media activist based in Idlib Province, said.